Budapest Metro - History

History

The first metro line was conceived as a means of carrying passengers from the city centre to the City Park without the need for surface transport on Andrássy Avenue. The Diet of Hungary approved the metro project in 1870. Construction began in 1894 and was carried out by the German firm Siemens & Halske AG, employing 2,000 workers using state-of-the-art machinery. The line was built entirely from the surface using the cut-and-cover method. Completed on schedule, the metro was inaugurated on May 2, 1896 (the year of the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars) by Emperor Franz Joseph.

The original line followed a northeast-southwest route along Andrássy Avenue from Vörösmarty Square to the City Park, a distance of 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi). There were a total of eleven stations, with nine underground and two above ground; the original terminus at the Zoo has since been replaced. With trains running every two minutes, the line was capable of carrying up to 35,000 passengers per day. (Today it handles about 103,000 passengers on a workday.) One of the original cars has been preserved at the Seashore Trolley Museum.

Plans for the next two metro lines were made as early as 1895, defining general north-south and east-west routes. More detailed planning for the second line began in 1942 and construction was launched in 1950 with a decree from the Council of Ministers. The line was originally scheduled for completion in 1955, but construction was put on hold for financial and political reasons from 1954 to 1963. Line 2 finally opened with seven stations on April 4 (a Communist holiday) in 1970. It follows an east-west route, connecting the major Keleti (Eastern) and Déli (Southern) railway stations. It has a joint station with the original line at Deák Ferenc Square, which has since become a transfer point for the third line as well. As of 2010 Line 2 is the only line to cross the Danube and reach Buda, the western part of Budapest.

The first line underwent a thorough refurbishment between 1970 and 1973, which included replacement of its rolling stock and a switch from left-hand drive to right-hand drive for the sake of consistency. In 1973, both lines were extended—the first with one station and the second with four. The lines reached their current lengths of 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi) and 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi), respectively. The Budapest Transport Company (BKV) took over operation of the metro that same year.

Planning for Line 3 began in 1963 and construction started in 1970. The first section, consisting of six stations, opened in 1976. It was extended to the south in 1980 with five additional stations, and to the north in 1981, 1984, and 1990, with nine additional stations. With a length of 17 kilometres (11 mi) and a total of 20 stations, it is the longest line in Budapest. Concurrently with the opening of Line 3, the metro adopted a colour-coding scheme for easier identification. The first line was given the colour yellow, the second line red, and the third, blue. Additionally, green is used to mark the suburban railways (HÉV) in and around Budapest.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Line 1 underwent major reconstruction. Of its 11 stations, eight are original and three were added during reconstruction. The original appearance of the old stations has been preserved, and each station feature displays of historical photographs and information. There is also a Millennium Underground Museum in the Deák Ferenc Square concourse where many other artifacts from the metro's early history can be seen.

Line 4 (under construction as of 2007) has a long history, dating back to 1972. In the planning phase, difficulties arose from the medicinal springs (for example, the Gellért Baths) around its planned route. There was a long debate over whether its construction would be safe, what part should be funded by the government and the capital, whether it could be paid for from the Russian state debt towards Hungary, whether the route and length were appropriate, and whether a connector line (see M5 below) would be a better use of funds. If the line is finished by 2014 (which is the best case), its planning and construction will span 41 years, longer than any other Budapest metro line.